What ‘everyday’ food was considered exotic when you were young?

[Splodgerbodgerbadger]

I remember the first time we had lasagne, it was a ready made one from M&S. It was considered very new and different by us. It must have been late 80’s early 90’s. We all loved it and had it every Saturday. Mum used to buy it, but then started making her own. It’s still one of my favourite dinners.

We never had curries or pasta growing up, it was generally things like mince beef, my Mum used to make that every Tuesday in gravy and we had veg and mash potatoes in the winter and new potatoes in the summer. I loved that too. Although the downside was we had tapioca for pudding as my Mum cooked it at the same time as the mince. I hated ‘frogspawn’, my Dad wasn’t keen either, but my sisters and Mum loved it.

Sushi! (born in mid 80s)

The Iceland prawn ring at Christmas

Oh god, and I was served Swedish meatballs (by an actual Swede) which I only knew as a kind of hot cocktail snack. I refused a second portion saying I wanted to leave enough room for dinner, was mortified to discover they were the main meal.

I grew up in the late 70s/early 80s. Middle class, mum was an adventurous cook so we ate regularly
Avocado
Tofu
Pulses
Home made hummus
Tabuleh
South and North Indian food
Chinese food
Lebanese food
Artichokes
Asparagus
Mangoes and papaya.
Tvp ( not quorn though)
Fresh Parmesan

Don’t remember sourdough, and lots of ingredients that are now normal were sourced in specialised delis and would no doubt have been expensive. We ate very little meat and fish because it was expensive though, so maybe it evened out.

I first had hummus 5 years ago at the grand old age of 38. Didn’t really know it existed until a group I was in did a taste session and brought it in, blew my mind!

Growing up in the 80s early 90s it was pasta and curry we never really ate. My dad hated all that ‘foreign muck’ as he called it so we never ate it. He would eat a Chinese though l

I remember another one. The orange and lemon slices at Christmas. I’m early. 50s.

@Mummyoflittledragon

I remember another one. The orange and lemon slices at Christmas. I’m early. 50s.

I remember those too, also early 50's here.

Came on to say croissants and anything to do with olives.

I'm amazed at how many posters had very conservative parents.
DH had a very plain diet growing up, but he will eat anything except celery.

We never ate out at a restaurant growing up. I mean never. Only takeaway was fish and chips. First time I did eat out was in my late teens in London at a Chinese restaurant and I had no idea what to order. Before that my Mum would say anything we could eat out, she could make at home cheaper. Child of the war so thought eating out was wasteful. There was no 'foreign' food growing up, Dad wouldn't allow it. Nothing that was not meat and two veg. I was astounded on going to Italy in the early 90's that pizza didn't have a huge, thick base. A revelation.

@RampantIvy

I'm amazed at how many posters had very conservative parents. DH had a very plain diet growing up, but he will eat anything except celery.

Not necessarily. My parents are very adventurous eaters. But it was bloody difficult to buy anything exotic in rural Scotland in the late 1970s to feed to your kids, and especially so when you were not well off.

@RampantIvy

I'm amazed at how many posters had very conservative parents. DH had a very plain diet growing up, but he will eat anything except celery.

You've had a nice sheltered privileged life then, or are very young. There has been an absolute food revolution in this country in the last 30 years, and many, many people still eat very plain food.

Most imported fruit - bar oranges, grapes (if sick only plus they had seeds) and bananas. Same with vegetables too - can’t even remember broccoli.
My diet was meat, potato and vegetables.
No pasta and rice was for pudding.

Fruit.

one apple, one pear, one orange and one banana per person per week. You could choose when you ate them but that would be it. During the school holidays, I would use my 50p pocket money to buy grapes off the market.

Btw My mum is amazed what we eat and that my kids eat it. I’m 40 and she is 61.

You've had a nice sheltered privileged life then, or are very young. There has been an absolute food revolution in this country in the last 30 years, and many, many people still eat very plain food.

Absolutely. My MiL (mid 70s) still considers pasta as “foreign”, won’t try curry (doesn’t like the smell) and “rice is pudding”.

Any cold meats that aren't ham, tongue, corned beef or haslet.
Salad that isnt just round lettuce, tomato, cucumber
Olive oil was to be warmed for earache, bought from Boots. When it started to be used in cooking I was convinced it was a 'different' olive oil.
Dinners were meat and 2 veg. When those frozen saucer sized cheese and tomato pizzas became widely available we had those occasionally. Thought they were exotic!
I remember having Nutella for the first time in Germany on an exchange trip in 1981, was blown away!

@RampantIvy

I'm amazed at how many posters had very conservative parents. DH had a very plain diet growing up, but he will eat anything except celery.

I grew up in the 60s and 70s. You couldn't get lots of things that are now normal unless you lived in a major City.

Oh and Lucozade was bought in a chemist and for when you were ill. It was expensive so small little glasses of it too.

@Hyenaormeercat

Oh and Lucozade was bought in a chemist and for when you were ill. It was expensive so small little glasses of it too.

Wrapped up in special orange celophane like a gift for the sick

I remember looking longingly at the vesta box curries by the till but they were expensive and not for people like us. Always had money for a box of cigarettes each day though.

Not quite the same but I was telling my kids the other day about quite a memorable holiday we went on as kids. There were several aspects if the journey and location that I remembered (not relevant to this thread) but it had a microwave.
This was incredibly exciting. It came with a special recipe book (im not sure why you couldn't just cook normal food in it!)
It was probably the late 1980s/1990s

We had a microwave cookery book as well.

I remember the first time we tried garlic bread with our spag Bol probably late 1980s? It truly was a Peter Kay moment. I thought it was really exotic.

French bread pizza. From the frozen aisle in Morrison’s I think.

Grapes